Missing driver found wandering desert

A 40-year-old man was rescued by Southern Nye County Search and Rescue teams Monday after he had reportedly been lost in the desert since the previous morning.

According to information from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday around 8 a.m., a Pahrump resident called Nevada Highway Patrol to ask for assistance after his vehicle became disabled and he told the agency he believed he was lost.

Based on the limited information operators were able to obtain from the man, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Search and Rescue team was notified to begin looking for the male in the Sandy Valley area.

The focus of the search was later switched to Crystal where State Route 160 meets U.S. 95 and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office was contacted to take over leading the operation to find the missing driver. The search and rescue team was activated and members quickly began covering the numerous dirt roads in the area looking for the missing man.

LVMPD air support was also requested to respond to help ground teams cover the large area surrounding the junction of the two highways where the driver was believed to be.

Search and rescue teams continued their operations until approximately 9 a.m. Monday morning when the male was finally located.

According to a report of the incident, the missing driver was found on the outskirts of Crystal after a passerby saw the man walk out of the desert to the west of the area and reported what he saw to search and rescue teams.

The teams had been in the process of renewing their efforts in the area just east of where the man was discovered and the Civil Air Patrol – Henderson Squadron enroute to aid their efforts when the driver was found.

Search and rescue reported the male was conscious when team members found him, albeit somewhat disoriented. He was attended to by search and rescue personnel until medical support arrived on scene and transported the driver to Desert View Hospital for further care.